Weaknesses

• EEG

  • The generalised nature of information since it is that of many thousands of neurons
  • The signal is not useful for pinpointing the exact source of neural activity and it does not allow researchers to distinguish between activities originating in different but adjacent locations
• ERPs

  • Lack of standardisation in methodology between different research studies which makes it difficult to confirm findings
  • In order to establish pure data, background noise and extraneous material must be completely eliminated which may not always be easy to achieve
• Post-Mortem

  • Finding causation
  • Observed damage to the brain may not be linked to the deficits under review but to another unrelated trauma or decay
  • Ethical issue of consent - case study of HM who lost his ability to form memories and was not able to provide consent was studied anyways
• fMRI

  • Expensive compared to other neuroimaging techniques and can only capture a clear image if the person stays perfectly still
  • Poor temporal resolution because there is around a 5-second time-lag behind the image on the screen and the initial firing of neuronal activity
  • Can only measure blood flow inn the brain, cannot hone in on activity of individual neurons so it can be difficult to tell exactly what kind of brain activity is being represented on screen